


It's Not About Fighting

by juujuujellyfish



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Mentions of Violence, Profanity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3437996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juujuujellyfish/pseuds/juujuujellyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While traveling the destroyed world after the Despair hit, the Crazy Diamonds and the random stragglers they picked up along the way rest under the open sky. Mondo takes a moment to reflect on their smallest extra traveler, Chihiro. </p><p>"This kid didn't have any strengths what so ever. Couldn't hold his own in a fight. Can't even drive a motorcycle. In fact, he has to ride with me and just gets in my way. When he sits behind me, he holds so tight around my waist, I think I'm going to lose breath. And when he sits in front of me, he squirms too much. It's irritating and takes everything in me not to throw him in the dirt sometimes</p><p>Today, though, he showed me where his strength was hiding. Taking my entire fist right into his eye just so I wouldn't punch my brother."</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Not About Fighting

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt was given to me by a wonderful anon on tumblr! Thank you!

A couple months ago, we picked up this kid. Scrawny little thing, didn't stand any taller than my elbows. Couldn't swing a bat, couldn't climb up a motorcycle. But we picked him up anyway because we knew if we didn't, he wouldn't last in this dirty world for long. The air after the destruction was enough to kill some people. Not to mention all the looters would have tore him apart in a second. I'm surprised he had survived as long as he did alone. He wasn't strong by any physical means. We tried teaching him some self defense but even his hardest punch felt like a brush of wind. But my brother insisted we let him tag along. Better than knowing we left him to die, I guess.

And for that, the kid had always been faithful to every word my brother said. With good reason, too. My brother was the leader of the gang after all and he earned that spot. He was smart and fearless. Even though we built this gang on looking intimidating, he was generous to every person we came across. It was how we developed such a rag tag road crew. When the despair hit the world and everyone began to flee, we started with just the Crazy Diamonds. Then we began picking up random survivors. My brother said they looked lost and were desperate for companionship in this harsh world. Some of them were useful. There was a mechanic, so if anything was wrong with our bikes, he was more than willing to fix it up. Also nabbed us some uptight asshole who liked to yell. He insisted that we were “the delinquent youth that caused this destruction” but because we saved him, he owed us. He was a hard working guy at least.

But the kid... the kid didn't do anything but get in the way. And that pissed me off. I understand we didn't want to leave him alone, but the world was in shambles. The only way we were going to make it out alive is if we kept together as a strong gang and stopped picking up losers. This kid didn't have any strengths what so ever. Couldn't hold his own in a fight. Can't even drive a motorcycle. In fact, he has to ride with me and just gets in my way. When he sits behind me, he holds so tight around my waist, I think I'm going to lose breath. And when he sits in front of me, he squirms too much. It's irritating and takes everything in me not to throw him in the dirt sometimes

Today, though, he showed me where his strength was hiding. Taking my entire fist right into his eye just so I wouldn't punch my brother. I had gotten so angry at the kid because during our travels of the day, he had let a jug of clean water slip from his hands. We lost that shit everywhere and who knew the next time we would find clean water around here. I threw the brakes on my bike, causing the entire gang to stop, and just started yelling at him right there. I gave him one simple task of holding the jug, and even had him sitting in my lap for less chance of him falling off, and he couldn't even do that. Useless! Then my brother got into it, laying into me about my behavior and how it was an accident. I didn't give a shit if it were an accident, we were struggling for water. Not only was he using extra resources, but now he was losing them, too. I can't even remember what we said at this point, but I knew it was enough to make me swing at my brother. I cocked my fist back and then threw my arm towards his chest with so much force, I intended to break a rib. But right before my fist hit, that kid jumped in. Threw his arms up and shouted stop before I pummeled him straight in the eye.

He went down in a second, cradling his injured face, and started crying like he always did. He was willing to take a hit for my brother. That had been two hours ago. After my screw up, we decided the area I slammed my brakes in was a good enough campsite for the evening. Somewhere behind me, the rest of the crew gathered around a huge fire, sharing our dinner. There wasn't any stable shelter around so it was going to be a night of laying beneath the stars. That was about the only good thing to come from the destruction. With all the downed cities, there weren't enough lights to block out the sky. Sometimes there was fog, but there was always a visible patch of stars somewhere. I laid back against the ground, staring up at them in some attempt to collect myself. Although it had been a couple hours, I was still heated over not only the kid's accident, but the fact that I was about to lay my hands on my brother. And that I almost broke that kid's skull. I was so hungry, but I couldn't face the others at the moment.

“Excuse me...” His voice was so tiny. Great. I looked above me and there he was. That useless little tag along that I almost killed today. I could hear him crying for about an hour after the incident. At first it was pretty loud sobbing because I had hit him hard. But after a while, it was just sniffles, so I had to go off by myself. I felt guilty. I was so stupid. “You haven't eaten yet...” The boy leaned over me and I could see the purple along side of his head peeking from the bandage wrapped around his eye. “I brought you this.”

He set down a container lid half full of canned vegetables beside my head. Folding his hands together before his hips, he stared up at the sky himself. I didn't move, just looked in another direction because I didn't feel like being around anyone. Especially when that someone had my fist imprinted on his face. “Can I … s-s-sit with you for a moment...? I need to talk with you...” His sentence trailed with a hum, and although he sounded sweet, there was some fear in his voice. He didn't speak to me often, and I wasn't too nice to him when he did. I guess I wasn't sure how to talk to him. His simple existence pissed me off all the time, but he had never done anything to me. I again didn't say anything. So, despite that I hadn't answered him, he sat down beside me anyway. To my right, where I could only see the covered eye. I was afraid to ask how it looked beneath the bandage. He didn't black out, so I hope nothing ruptured or broke.

The two of us sat in the quiet of the destruction. Yards behind us, my crew hollered and roared in laughter, and I could hear my brother among the loudest. Today wasn't the first time I tried to swing at my brother. It happened all the time. Sometimes I would hit, most the time he could catch me before I could land a punch. This was the first time someone jumped between us. Everyone else knew better. “I'm sorry... I dropped the water,” the boy murmured, tucking one leg beneath the other. He leaned forward, pressing his hands into a small patch of grass that remained. Most of the earth was dirt or crumbled buildings at this point. Seeing a little bit of green was always a pleasant sight.

“Whatever,” I grunted, that being the only response I could muster. I wasn't even mad about the water anymore. In retrospect, regardless of how much water we had, it was an accident. He didn't throw the water off my bike on purpose. He sighed. From the corner of my eye I could see his fingers running over the blades of grass. They were small, like the rest of him. Sometimes I wondered how he even made it so far alone. I never asked what happened to his friends or family. He must of had someone out there. I considered apologizing for my own actions, but my pride kept it choked down. I wasn't much for looking vulnerable. Even though my knuckles left the proof of hitting him in the face, I didn't like taking responsibility for my mistakes, either. So instead of apologizing, I let out a harsh grunt. “Get out of here. I wanna be alone.”

I watched his body tighten and his small fist balled against his chest. That familiar quiver ran across his lips and he nodded. He scattered to his tiny feet, standing tall for just a second as he stared up at the stars. There were so many of them tonight. But I couldn't waste time admiring them. Wasn't like it would do me a damn bit of good in this deserted world. He turned around, stepping one foot out, but then hesitated. Frozen, his hand was still pressed against his chest. From this angle, I could see more purple seeping from beneath his bandage. There was a tinge of dried blood coming from his nose as well. I guess my first was big enough to hit not only his eye, but his nose, too. I needed to apologize. But that wasn't going to happen.

Clearing his throat, he glanced down at me. His eye was bright and like always, threatening me with tears. But he fluttered them away with a blink before his eyebrows furrowed in persistence. I had to push myself up on my elbows, preparing for whatever words he wanted to spout. Wasn't like him not to listen to me. “I know you don't like me,” he stated, quite firm, and I noticed his balled fist twitch a bit. “I know you think I'm a huge burden...” His voice grew loud. Aside from the first time he screamed when I raced away with him on my motorcycle, his voice didn't get much louder than a whisper. And when I was about to punch my brother and he yelled for me to stop. “I just want you to know... that I'm glad you didn't leave me behind.”

My quick tongue and stupid brain wanted to retort, “It was my brother's decision.” But with him staring at me, his childlike face wrinkled in determination, I felt bad for even thinking it. It was my brother's decision to pick up this awkward group of people. It was my brother's decision to keep the pipsqueak around. And I often thought about letting him fall off my bike like that jug of water because he wasn't doing me any good. He was my riding buddy now and I didn't care for sharing my bike. But seeing his intent hazel eyes narrowed down on me... he was alone and we took him in. And he put up with my bad attitude and my yelling only because we took him in. I sighed and sat up, drawing my knees up towards my chest. My fingers tingled as they had been resting beneath my head for a while. I stretched them out, quickening the flow of blood in my hands. There was a scuff where my knuckle had hit his face. It didn't hurt as bad as some of the things I've punched, but the blow definitely did work on my fist. “That why you jumped in front of my brother?”

The kid looked down on me and then back up at the sky at the glorious speckling of stars above us. The fire across the way lit up his body and he grinned for a moment. Although the smile seemed unsure, it was the first time that I saw a genuine smile from him. “You were acting out of anger that I caused... I felt it was only appropriate that I took the hit, you know?” His free hand touched the bandage over his eye and he let out a huge sigh. Not once did he look down from the sky, though. It was like looking at the stars gave him the courage to speak to me. I wouldn't speak to someone who had just decked me in the eye. “It's okay, though... I'm okay...”

I took in a deep breath. Really? He was tougher than I thought. Either that, or a great liar. I patted grass beside me as a quiet invitation for him to take a seat again. He finally glanced away from the sky, his lips curving into a timid frown. With a bit of hesitation, he finally slid down to his knees, pulling his feet from beneath his bottom and stretching them out. His heels dug into the dirt and he leaned back, pressing his hands behind in him the small patch of grass. Again, his eyes darted towards the glorious sky. The longer I sat beside him, the more I delved in the stars, too. It had been a long time since I looked at them. Back when the gang got together, that was my favorite part. Driving through random back roads in the pack, staring up at the sky with the moon hanging overhead. It was strange and relaxing, even if we got in trouble most days for being loud and destructive. “It's been a while since we could see the stars, hmm...” the boy mumbled as if talking to himself. I saw the smile tug at the corner of his lips. “I had this huge telescope in my room... my mom got it for me when I was little...”

His mother? So he has a family... or had. I had never asked. “She loved the stars. Used to point out all the constellations to me. I can't remember them all, but... I still like to look at them.” His words trailed off and the smile once spread across his face grew solemn. He stared, bright eyed towards the sky. I watched his gaze waver and his lip quiver. Did something happen to his mom? Did he have a dad somewhere? Did they leave him? I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to let on that I cared. “Don't let yourself get mad at your brother...” His voice cracked and he brought his hand against his lips. “It's not worth it in the world we're stuck in now...”

It was in that moment that I watched his heart break. That's why he did it. It wasn't because he thought he deserved getting punched in the face. It wasn't because he wanted to protect my brother. It was because he didn't want us fighting. “Whoever is... doing this to the world... it's what they want,” he exclaimed, sobs erupting from his lips. I stared at him, unable to react. He was just sitting here crying. He must have lost his parents. I couldn't imagine someone wanting to leave this kid behind... I frowned. I had thought about it many times but... we couldn't leave him behind. “They want us to fight and be miserable and turn on each other... and... lose everything we love... and...”

His body hunched forward and in a second he pulled his knees towards his body. Resting his forehead against his knee, he cried. Loud, heavy cries. His body was shaking and I just stared. This kid cried all the time, but it was over minor things, and they were just quick fits of little tears. Nothing ever this serious. This was louder than when I socked him in the eye. I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the gang looking in my direction, their hollered laughter coming to a halt. My brother stared at me with a look of confusion and I realized how stupid I felt. All this over a jug of water. “Hey,” I grunted, turning forward and throwing my arm around the kid's small body. I could hear him suck up his sobs and at first he seemed to defy me, trying to squirm from under my arm. But once he realized I was bumbling to comfort him, his body sunk in and he slithered his arms around me. His embrace was firm and he squeezed me a lot harder than I thought he was capable of. “Stop your cryin'...”

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” he blurted, shaking his head against my shirt. I glanced down and grunted. His tears and a little snot just got wiped all over my top. “I just haven't slept in... days... and I'm just tired and overwhelmed...” I nodded. None of us had been sleeping well. We tried taking turns, some of us staying up to watch over the group in case any of those crazy, bear-headed looters swept through. Even then, though, it was hard. But the gang knew each other well enough to give and receive support. To any of the “outsiders' we picked up along the way, it had to be much harder. I had never thought of that. I had my gang to lean on. I had my brother to confide in when I needed him. What did this kid have? An asshole who yelled at him because of water. “I mean, I'm used to not sleeping because I stay up all the time working on stuff... but... when you can't sleep out of fear... it's different.”

I felt his arms squeeze tighter, much tighter than any time he rode behind me on the bike. He wasn't clinging for dear life that he may slip off the back of my motorcycle. It felt like his was embracing me as if I were the last person he had left in this world. I placed my hand on the top of his head, coursing my fingers through his hair. My mom used to do it when I was a kid to calm me down. I was angry a lot. I cried a lot more than I like to admit, too. I missed my mom. “Want to get some sleep now?” I offered in a low whisper and he brought in a heavy breath, snorting through his nose. His hand left my waist and I watched him wipe away tears with the back of his hand. His other hand crept away and he tucked them both against his chest. With a timid, shaky nod, he wavered to his feet. But before he could slouch away, I tugged against the hem of his stocking. “Nah... I meant right here... you can see the stars better here.”

The boy glanced down at me, clutching his arms tight around his frail body before tossing a peek at the sky. He looked cold and the fire was across the way, but he would never get to sleep around the roar of my rowdy gang. He wasn't the kind to sleep through anything, and now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen him take a nap in days. I always assumed he slept when I did, but he was always awake. I slid my long jacket off and threw it down against the ground beside me. Hadn't washed it in a while, so it was already coated with dirt and dust from riding. But we all were so I'm sure he wouldn't mind. With hesitation, he slunk back down to the ground, at first beside my jacket. But when I patted on it, he scooted on top of it, making himself comfortable against the thick fabric. Within seconds, he laid flat back against the ground, tugging the jacket around his shoulders. He squirmed, swaddling himself like a baby until he was finally comfortable. His body stilled and he focused on the sky.

I had so many questions now that we finally had the chance to talk. Although I didn't want to speak to him from the beginning. I had learned through the destruction that getting close to anyone new wasn't worth it. There was a great possibility they weren't going to make it. We weren't even sure where we were heading. We just knew we needed to stay safe. But for what? Our families? I just had my brother now. My friends were still around, but for how long? I fell back against the grass, tucking my hands beneath my head as they were before. There were so many stars. It was starting to become soothing. All the deep questions started to leave my mind. Bringing up his family may not do any good. From his reaction... something terrible had happened and I wasn't good enough with words to bring up happy memories. I would just make him remember the bad stuff. “I'm...” I started, clearing my throat with hesitation. His eyes never left the stars. “Uh... real sorry I punched you.”

“I'm fine,” he breathed, his words flowing from his lips. It was reassuring. He had a soft, calm voice. A little sad, kind of small, but soothing. I shivered for a moment. I can't believe someone was willing to sit next to me after everything I had done. But he was right... there was no use fighting one another when we had an entire world to take on. Cocking my head to the right, I noticed a small smile on his lips. His face glowed beneath the moonlight and even if he wasn't the most active or helpful member of our group, he was always optimistic. Even when he was crying or cowering from fear, he was hopeful. Even after all the harsh things I yelled at him, he trusted me. He trusted me to watch him while he fell asleep under the night sky wrapped in my dirty, old jacket.

Tilting my head back, I looked behind me towards the fire where my gang had fallen quiet. Many of them began to make their beds for the evening, deciding who would be up to keep watch. The mechanic was already asleep in the dirt, and that loud mouth strict kid seemed to be taking the task of watching the group. My brother smiled at him, nodding his head in a thankful silence. He was all I had left and I tried to punch him. When the conversation between the two ended, by brother glanced over, as if he knew I was thinking of him. His face was solemn and he looked as if he wanted to head over, but he remained in his spot. A smirk twitched at the corner of his lips before it cracked into a full smile and I knew that he forgave me. I rolled my eyes and turned my head towards my tiny companion instead. He had closed his eyes and rolled on his side, snuggled tight within the dirty fabric. He had already fallen asleep.

Turning my attention towards the stars, I focused on their beautiful glimmer. I hoped somewhere out in the world, his parents were still alive searching for him. It would be a shame to lose such a precious child in this damned destruction.


End file.
